NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART WASHINGTON, D C,

FOR RELEASE: Saturday, November 22, 1952

WASHINGTON, November 22: David E Finley, Director of the National

Gallery of Art, announced today the opening on Sunday, November 23 at

2 o'clock, of a Loan Exhibition of 20th Century French Paintings from

the Chester Dale Collection The exhibition will continue throughout 1953,

There will be a preview on Saturday evening, November 22nd,

for Government officials and other invited guests. An illustrated catalogue

of the exhibition will be available.

Describing the exhibition,Mr, Finley said, "Mr. Dale has

assembled for a loan exhibition at the National Gallery the larger part of

his famous collection of twentieth century French paintings Many of these

paintings have been on exhibit in recent years in The Chicago Art Institute

and the Philadelphia Museum of Art These paintings, with the earlier

ones in the Chester Dale Collection, give an extraordinarily comprehensive

view of French painting of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. When

seen in connection with the many fine examples of the work of seventeenth

and eighteenth century French artists, given by Mr0 Dale and other generous

donors for the collection of the National Gallery, it is possible to assess at

its true value, as in few places in the world, the great contribution made by

French artists in the field of painting over a period of more than three

hundred years."

The exhibition of twentieth century French paintings will contain

works by Modigliani, Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Derain, Utrillo, Rouault,

Dufy, Vlaminck, Dufresne, Marcoussis, Soutine, Bonnard, Vuillard, Marquet,

Leger, Quizet, Laurencin, De Chirico, Lurc.at, Oudot, and Tondu.

Mr. Finley continued, "It is possible also to realize from this

exhibition how extraordinary has been the achievement of Mr and Mrs.

Chester Dale in bringing together such a unique and important collection of the

works of French artists who have influenced the trend of painting for more

than a century, and still today exercise such an influence on the development

of contemporary art. The achievement of Mr n and Mrs 0 Dale has been all

the more remarkable when one realizes how difficult it is to recognize what

is significant among the many and varying manifestations of art in the world

today. From any survey of the Chester Dale Collection one must come away

- 3 -

with the conviction that Mr and Mrs Dale have tried consistently to

adhere to one rule: in order to enter their collection, a painting must be

the work of a significant artist and must show evidence of creative

imaginationc For no one realizes more clearly than these intelligent and

perceptive collectors that, without creative imagination, we can have no

work of art, even though we may have a clever and sophisticated arrange­

ment of line and color "

Mr Finley added, "We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs Dale for

their generosity in making these works of art available for the enjoyment

of the American people "

# # # #

4 -

A Loan Exhibition Twentieth Century French Paintings

from the Chester Dale Collection

BONNARD, Pierre (1867-1947) The Letter

BRAQUE, Georges (1882- ) Nude Woman with Fruit Nude Woman with Basket of Fruit PeoniesStill Life: The Table Still Life: Le Jour

CHIRICO, Giorgio de (1888- ) Conversation among the Ruins

DERAIN, Andre (1880- ) The Old Bridge Still Life HarlequinWoman in an Armchair Portrait of a Girl Head of a Woman Woman in a Chemise Flowers in a Vase

DUFRESNE, Charles (1876-1938) Judgment, of Paris Still Life

DUFY, Raoul (1877- ) Saint-Jeannet Nude, Reclining

LAURENC1N, Marie (1885- ) In the Park

LEGER, Fernand (1881- ) Woman with Mirror

LURCAT, Jean (1892- ) The Big Cloud

- 5 -

MARCOUSSIS Louis (1883-1941) The Musician

MARQUET, Albert (1875-1947) The Pont Neuf

MATISSE, Henri (1869- ) La Coiffure The Plumed Hat Les Gorges du Loup Still Life: Apples on Pink Tablecloth Odalisque, with Raised Arms Woman with Exotic Plant

MODIGLIANI, Amedeo (1884-1920) Portrait of Leon Bakst Adrienne (Woman with Bangs) Portrait of Madame Kisling Woman with Red Hair Madame Amedee (Woman with Cigarette) Gypsy Woman with Baby

OUDOT, Roland (1897- ) The Market

PICASSO, Pablo (1881- ) The Tragedy Juggler with Still Life Two YouthsFamily of Saltimbanques Still Life Classical Head Portrait of Madame Picasso The Lovers Portrait of Dora Maar

QUIZET, Alphonse (1885- ) The Stairway, Belleville

ROUAULT, Georges (1871- ) Nude with Upraised Arms Cafe Scene

SOUTINE, Chaim (1894-1943) Portrait of a Boy

TONDIL Andre (1903- ) Bathers

- 6 -

UTRILLO, Maurice (1883- ) Marizy-Samte-Genevieve The Church of Saint-Severin

VLAMINCK, Maurice de (1876- Vase of Flowers The RiverThe Old Port of Marseille Still Life with Lemons Carrieres-Saint-Denis

VUILLARD, fidouard (1868-1940) Repast in a Garden